spicy

According to Pew Research Center, “50% of adult cell phone owners have apps on their phone.” In other words, we have gone app crazy! What was once reserved for the early adopters, gaming companies, or social networks has now become the must-have tool for any business. You have a website, Facebook page, Foursquare deal, and now the time has come to decide… app or no app? In this episode of Content Throwdown! we will explore the pros and cons of building an app. So grab your marketing plan, put on your wrestling gear, and let’s hit the mat!

First things first: What kinds of apps are there?

Before we leap off the top rope, let’s talk briefly about what kind of apps are out there and why you would want to build one. A quick look at the top sellers on iTunes and in the Android store gives us a good idea of what’s popular in the marketplace. The majority of these popular apps fall into either entertainment or productivity categories. Under the entertainment category you will find games, social sharing, media consumption and media creation apps. In the productivity area there are business software, calculation & measurement, utilities, and navigation apps. Unless you are developing an app to sell as part of your business strategy, most companies develop a tool that will inform, educate, or market. It’s important to be very clear from the beginning about what kind of app you are developing and why you are launching one.

To build an App:

If you have content that people want and need to access often, then you should build an app. It sounds simple but most organizations are still wrestling with what their audiences want, need and how often they want or need it. A good consumer facing example would be a catalog of products or services. Resources or tools that your customers use on a daily basis are a great way to provide those handy items under your brand. Most consumer apps built by companies are a chance to add to the customer experience, create better dialogue, and build your brand relationship. The Bonnaroo Music Festival iOS app, developed by Aloompa is a great example of a free end user tool. With maps of the grounds, schedules of events, and even a radio channel of the artists, Bonnaroo has provided everything a festival goer needs to interact with the event.

You may be catching on to one of the other benefits of apps: saving money on printing and distribution costs. The Infiniti 2011/12 Models Catalog for iPad developed by Bite Interactive is a slick and beautiful alternative to flooding dealers with catalogs. One of the comments on the review of the app laments the loss of the glossy car catalogs but ultimately praises this alternative as a much better experience for selecting a vehicle.

Not to build an App:

So, with all the benefits of apps what could the arguments be against building one? A common problem I have seen rearing its head in corporate America is a serious case of “keeping up with the Joneses.” Just because your competitor has an app or you saw a cool presentation on how an app can revolutionize your business, does not mean you need one. First, if your customers don’t want or need frequent updates from you, then don’t flood them with info they don’t need. Second, don’t make a copy of your website and call it an app just because you can. The marketplace is flooded with “build your own app” tools or “turn your web page into an app for $300” services. These avenues can do double damage by cheapening your brand and not really providing any additional value to your customers.

So if you don’t build an app there are several easy tips to providing a mobile solution to your end users. The simple answer is to provide a reminder to mobile users who visit your website that they can bookmark your content in their browser of choice. Both Android and iOS also allow you to create a shortcut link (that looks just like an app) which leads directly to your web page. Other options include providing your content through existing apps that provide customers the chance to create content for your business. Some of the best photos and videos of retail experiences on Yelp!, FourSquare, and Google Maps were created by end users.

And the winner is…

In this age of choice and interactive options to share our content the winner is… you! Whether you decide to build an app or not, the tools we have access to can help build our customer relationships regardless of your choice. Just remember to ask the questions: why are we doing this, what will our target audience get out of this and what is the best solution to serve our content? There’s the bell, now let’s pile drive that marketing plan!

There are plenty of “rules” for online content these days. “You must post your story to Twitter at 10 a.m. on Monday for maximum effectiveness,” says the blog post. “If your YouTube video is longer than 2 minutes no one will watch it,” shouts the latest marketing book. “If your content isn’t formatted specifically for each different mobile device, your audience will show up on your doorstep with pitchforks and torches,” screams the over-paid consultant. And while some of these statements do contain grains of truth, I think Thomas Edison had a better take on rules. He said, “Hell, there are no rules here–we’re trying to accomplish something.”

“Hell, there are no rules here–we’re trying to accomplish something.”

– Thomas Edison

As a writer, speaker and consultant in the technology space for the last 10 years, I have witnessed the rise and fall of amazing tools, blazing hardware, and mind-blowing software. Our culture has become infatuated with objects, equipment, and the companies that create them. Most technology blogs have turned into a TMZ.com for tech. “Blogger Celebrity Busted in VC Funding for iPhone 7 Blueprints Swap Scandal,” is how most of the headlines read now. But one thing has survived all the format wars, the revolving door of devices and the loud cacophony of pundits. The story still rules.

Whoever tells the best story wins, every time.

The quality and creativity of content continues to surprise and delight far beyond the silicon and aluminum bits and bytes that dominate the news feeds. Edison had it right. To get things done, sometimes you need to break the rules. So I am excited to launch a new column with eContent to speak specifically about content and how it continues to revolutionize the way we live our lives. The focus for Content Rules! will be fresh and relevant stories about the latest triumphs and failures from companies and individuals around the globe. My hope is that we can laugh a little, see some dramatically different approaches and learn how to apply it to our businesses and lives.

To give you a little taste of what is to come I have selected two rule breakers that definitely did not follow the advice in the first paragraph. They hail from a small dark, room in England and you have probably never heard of them. When mutual gaming friends Lewis Brindley & Simon Lane started recording their World of Warcraft exploits they were purely interested in sharing advice and having fun. But when they started exploring new games, including the indie hit Minecraft, the viewing numbers started to climb into the six and seven figures per video. (Yes, that’s millions.) This has led to one of the most popular channels on YouTube right now, The Yogscast. I doubt that anyone thought 20 minute YouTube videos of two cheeky geeks playing a video game would have led to over 72 million channel views. But that’s what rule breaking is all about. Check them out at yogiverse.com (they are now located at Yogscast.com) and see what it means to build a real community using virtual content.

Update: The Yogscast has increased their numbers exponentially in the last 3 years since I wrote this post. And these are just for their YouTube channel, their own videos on Yogscast.com are racking up millions of views as well.

A man with a massive beard and red suspenders had just handed me a large, sharp double-bitted axe. A cross section of a stump with a red and white bulls eye stood about 18 feet away. And in about 30 seconds the lumberjack distilled the thousands of years of axe throwing knowledge into a few sentences. Appearing from nowhere a small crowd had gathered to watch the carnage sure to follow. I took a deep breath, brought both my hands over my head, and flung the handle towards the target. A large metal banging sound rang out and I realized I had missed by about a foot above the log. “Great first shot”, the mountain man shouted out. He retrieved the axe from behind their stage, hinted that I should let go just a bit later, and then handed the weapon back to me.

The crowd had grown a little bit larger and my hands were sweating a bit more. I brought the handle back over my head and let it fly, releasing just a fraction of a second later than before. The axe looped through the air and landed with a solid thud in the target. Woohoo! I start high-fiving the audience, no knowing or caring if they were impressed with my throw or relieved that I hadn’t severed anyone’s body parts.

The spicy idea wrapped up in this story is not my hidden talents as an axe thrower but the amazing mountain man who taught me to do what I thought was impossible in just a few minutes. Here are a few spicy tips on what it means to be a great teacher.

Spicy Teaching Tip #1 – Have Total Faith!

This mountain man believed in me. We were just looking to shoot a little video but he knew his craft and knew that he could show me how to throw an axe. His faith in me was also due in part to his faith in his own training. He had probably taught countless individuals how to throw an axe but it was the first time for me. Having total faith in a student is the ultimate confidence builder.

Spicy Teaching Tip #2 – Encourage Failure

I was handed a very sharp axe and told to throw it at a target, knowing that I would probably the miss the first time. Almost no one is perfect the first time out. Failure is always an option and a great option! Fail fast, learn from your mistakes, and throw again quickly.

Now get out there and find a spicy teacher or be one yourself!

You should totally watch the video of the axe throw below shot by Kyle with Digital-Fridge.

Thanks to the folks from Lumberjack Feud. You should go check out their show sometime. Don’t try this at home! (Unless you have a lumberjack around.)

Ferruccio had a passion for engines. Born into a wine producing agricultural family, he cut his teeth as a World War II Italian Air Force mechanic. Ferruccio used his engineering knowledge to start a farm equipment company using surplus military hardware. And by the mid 1950’s he had built one of the largest producers of tractors and farming equipment in Italy. As a successful businessman his joy for engines spilled over into luxury sports cars. But in 1958 his boyhood fascination with cars culminated when he bought a Ferrari 250GT.

While Ferruccio loved his Ferrari and bought several more, he was obsessed with their lack of refinement. The bumpy, noisy cars were more racing vehicles than luxury grand tourers. On one fateful day the clutch in his Ferrari broke and he was surprised to find that it was the same clutch used in his tractors. He approached Ferrari and asked for a better replacement clutch but the response was not what he expected and would in fact change the world. Ferrari replied that he was just a tractor maker and what would he know about sports cars.

After the belittling response Ferruccio decided he would start his own automotive company and pursue the dream of the perfect grand touring car. You probably know this man as Ferruccio Lamborghini.

No one knows what would have happened if Ferrari had been more gracious to Lamborghini. Perhaps there would be no Lamborghini today. But the lesson we can learn from watching this exchange is a valuable one. The customer you tick off today could become your biggest competitor tomorrow.

It also makes today’s announcement of the brand new Lamborghini Veneno even more amazing. Thank God Ferrari ticked off that tractor maker or we wouldn’t have this amazing 220mph beauty.